Soccer Dad

More thoughts on raffy

Earlier, I had suggested that the Orioles fired Lee Mazzilli because he possibly knew about Rafael Palmeiro's failed steroids test. Apparently not:

Orioles officials were not informed of the matter until Monday morning -- owner Peter Angelos was the first to find out, then Vice President of Baseball Operations Mike Flanagan. Manager Lee Mazzilli was not informed of the suspension until around 11 a.m. Monday, roughly two hours before the Orioles' game in Baltimore against the Chicago White Sox.

I've now heard Sam Perlazzo on a couple of pre-game shows. What can I say? He sounds a lot more animated than Lee Mazzilli ever was. I know that Mazzilli wowed the GMs during his interview, whatever he did in that interview doesn't seem to have stayed with him. I found his admission that he might have Rodrigo Lopez in two batters too long refreshing.
Steve Davis at WBAL has been hounding Palmeiro to tell his side of the story. Sorry, but Tom Marr at WCBM had it right this morning. Tom said that given that he's under investigation, Raffy, if he has a lawyer who is the least bit competent, is going to shut up. Tom's also skeptical about the steroid Raffy's accused of taking. I understand that whoever leaked that information broke the rules, but I suspect that it's accurate. After Raffy said that this was all one big misunderstanding, there was probably someone in the commissioner's office who said, "Who does he think he's fooling?" and decided to force Raffy onto the defensive.
Why am I so hesitant to trash Raffy? I guess I always felt he was a good guy. He could come accross as slightly arrogant but brazen? He didn't seem the type. As bad as it looks for him right now, I'm hoping that this will all be straightened out. However unlikely that seems.
There are those who call on the Orioles to release Palmeiro. Look if the rule is ten days the first time, then that's it. Besides it won't be a punishment. Now that Jim Thome's on the disabled list don't you think the Phillies would love to have Raffy at the league minimum? Raffy won't be punished by a release, he'll just be playing elsewhere.
I'm not convinced about the awfulness of steroids. Well I'm not convinced that it's cheating to the degree that people feel. An athlete doesn't take steroids and simply grow muscles. He still has to work at building those muscles; it's just easier to build them. Nor do I think that it makes a huge difference in a player's production. I'm not alone, John Brattain at the Hardball Times writes:

My point? If Palmeiro has indeed been a long-time user, the benefits to his game were primarily in the power department. His “pre-steroid” years featured his best batting averages, which might well mean--steroids or not--he’d still be a member of the 3000 hit club. Since the durability knife with regards to steroids cuts both ways (it can prolong or shorten careers, as well as make one more durable or more susceptible to injury) we cannot assume with any certainty that steroids contributed to the durability that allowed him to bang out 3000 hits. If you wish to discount 25% of the home runs he hit since he allegedly started using then he’s left with 3000 hits and over 450 HR (and probably well over 600 doubles).

He also writes that he feels that in five years people will mostly forget about the steroids.
Which brings me to my final point. I'd love to be a sportswriter. I could write the stupidest things and no one would pay attention. I'd get praised for pushing the envelope. No risks. And I'd get to go to ballgames as part of my job. Lots of reward.
In 1988, when the O's traded Eddie Murray, the sportswriters at the Baltimore Sun couldn't wait to shove him out the door. (Had Eddie been on a ledge of a tall building, they would have been on the sidewalk below shouting "Jump, jump." But a few years ago, when Eddie was elected to the Hall of Fame, the Sun honored him with a special pull out section. John Eisenberg wrote about how great Eddie was.
I suspect that many of the same people who are trying to drive Raffy out now, will be on his bandwagon when he's looking at the Hall of Fame five years from now.
Technorati tags Orioles, Rafael Palmeiro

Posted by SoccerDad at August 12, 2005 1:13 AM | TrackBack